Cubs' Ballpark Renovation Plans Include Adding A New Entrance To Wrigley Field

May 16, 2013

When the Cubs unveiled ballpark renovation plans last month, the proposal for a "new entrance to Wrigley Field received little notice," but the entry would be "a dramatic alteration of the historic park's exterior walls, while enhancing the Cubs' plan to create a plaza filled with entertainment and advertising on the west side of the park along Clark Street," according to Cheryl Kent in a special to the CHICAGO TRIBUNE. The plaza would be the "landing point for a pedestrian bridge over Clark Street from a hotel the team plans to build." The exterior walls of Wrigley Field are "protected by a city landmarks ordinance." Any alteration to "protected areas of Wrigley must be approved by the City Council." The gate was "not included in the Cubs' application for approval." The Cubs said that it will be "added after the design is complete" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 5/16).

VISION OF LOVE: Cubs Chair Tom Ricketts appearing yesterday on "The Dan Patrick Show" said his "vision" of Wrigley Field is "we want to take the entire experience of coming to Wrigley and just make it better all the way around." He added, "It's obviously a beautifully laid out park ... Our vision is basically not just preserve it and restore it to the days when it looked great, but to just make it a better experience for fans when they're there and I think we're kind of on the right track and we're moving forward on that." Ricketts said of his previous comments that he might leave Wrigley Field without the improvements to the ballpark, "In the context of the question, basically the question was, 'What if you're not able to put any type of signage or videoboard in your outfield?' And I said at that point, then we'd have to put some options back on the table. But I think people read a lot into that. But the key is -- and we've been pretty consistent about this the whole time -- it's our goal to save Wrigley" ("The Dan Patrick Show," 5/15).